8 Vintage Pieces Used in Unexpected & Brilliant Ways
I’m a big fan of vintage furniture: well-made and well-loved, the right piece can add a focal point to any space. But keeping in mind the old adage of having nothing in your home that isn’t beautiful or useful, you want to be sure that you aren’t just adding vintage pieces for the sake of them being, well, old. Check out the following for examples of vintage being brilliantly repurposed, reused, or just given the right surroundings.
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The vintage cabinet as bathroom vanity has been trending for a few years now, but I’m not tired of it yet. Mid-century design works especially well in the bathroom, thanks to its sleek lines and likelihood to be made of teak (one of the most naturally water-resistant woods). The vanity above was designed bySimply Grove, and found viaSF Girl by Bay.
The same idea works in the kitchen, too. In this Oysterville, Washington, home featured onDesign*Sponge, a vintage sideboard forms a sink that looks right at home among the country style units.
But in my personal opinion, vintagereallyshines when it’s set in contrast to more modern pieces. In this spare Icelandic kitchen, featured onBo Bedreand found viaNordic Design, old document drawers form an eye-catching (and actually quite useful) bespoke island.
Vintage doesn’t need to be repurposed to look fresh and new. I’m fairly certain the upper cabinet doors in this Swedish kitchen, found viaFantastic Frank, are original 1950s joinery (my childhood home used to have the same ones). By pairing them with a modern, bespoke version on the lower cabinets, this kitchen melds old and new seamlessly.
I’m fairly certain I’ve shared this gorgeous dining room, frommicasaviaSF Girl by Bay, before—I just love it. And while yes, the room itself reads traditional, the tiles vaguely vintage and the chairs definitely mid-century, all together they serve as a contemporary backdrop to that drop-dead-gorgeous antique dining table. Proving that even among their own kind, vintage pieces can still steal the show.
For me, this room fromHouse & Garden都是关于对比打赌吗ween that vintage chandelier and those ultra-modern, barely-there coffee tables. Both glass, both visually light, but utterly different. If you have something vintage that you want to make a feature of, consider finding it a modern counterpart to play against.
In Jamie Theakston’s London home (fromIdeal Home), it’s the grouping of vintage art—all portraits of women, all colorful—that is the focus in the living room. Reading as one large piece, the collection draws the eye in the otherwise monochrome, mid-century space.
And finally, how’s this for cool? Dutch architectPiet Hein Eekcreated a wall entirely panelled in whitewashed vintage doors in this lobby to a residential building (fromAzure MagazineviaPoppytalk; photosThomas Mayer). On a smaller scale, I think this could also work with window frames, maybe in a dining room?